“Society can say yes to peaceful protest”

Protest has long been a part of the interaction between the people and the institutions that have power over them. Aïdêè Amba, 20, a Correspondent from Calabar in Nigeria, writes that peaceful protest has a place in society, but violent protest is counter-productive.

When citizens of a country or a group of people disagree with the laws or rules of governance or leadership around them, they tend to embark on a protest or rebellious match to show their disapproval or discontentment or to express their feelings, thereby, making their voices and opinions heard.

Although some countries or governments highly disagree with protesting, there is truthfully nothing wrong with a protest when it is done right. Protests are the full right of every citizen of a country because every citizen is important and deserves to be heard and to have their point of view taken seriously.

However, there’s no denying that some protest do go wrong. Sometimes, citizens of a country – especially the youths – can involve a lot of violence and carry out extreme violent activities whenever they protest. They vandalise government and private property, and both guilty and innocent people get killed. Basically, all this type of behaviour in the name of protest leads to destruction of lives and properties.

These youths seem to forget that these properties cost money, money of innocent citizens (tax-payers), including theirs. These youths forget that these precious lives, the lives of innocent people they take, can never come back. Even killing guilty people does not make positive change. You end up stirring up angry people who want revenge and at the end, death begets death without solution.

The truth is that no protest is worth a life. You can send your message across peacefully. Your protest can be void of violence. Don’t be a tool of violent protest. Always remember, violence does not equal solution, violence doesn’t equal peace.

Let’s be smart and wise youths. Let’s say yes to peaceful protest. We have a right to protest, but let us do it wisely. Spread the message: no to violent protest and yes to peaceful protest.

About me: My name is Aïdêè Amba. I am a writer, podcaster and fashion designer. I’m a highly ambitious individual who is into a little bit of everything. I love media, fashion and advanced technology. I am an extremely creative individual with the ideology that the world can be much better. I am passionate about media and fashion. I’m a self-lover and believe in myself so much. Besides if you don’t love yourself, who will ?For me,focus is major key.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/